


Star-Crossed

by idola



Category: Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu | The Legend of the Legendary Heroes
Genre: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Denyuuden AU Week 2020, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:22:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24798382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idola/pseuds/idola
Summary: The lazy king of the Napping Kingdom and his self-appointed bully of an assistant have one goal: to change the world.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	Star-Crossed

**Author's Note:**

> day 5 - role swap

“Ryneeerr!”

Ryner braced himself for the blunt side of Ferris’ sword.

Three, two, one— 

“Gyohyaaaah!!”

“Mm. You’re awake,” Ferris said.

“Why’d you hit me if you already knew that!?”

“Because you’re still in bed.”

Ryner forced his heavy body up, then rubbing his poor, throbbing stomach. “How am I supposed to work like this?” He groaned. “You’re the worst guard ever. You’re supposed to be protecting me, not—”

Ferris lifted her sword again.

“—Sorry! I was kidding! Sorry!! You’re the best guard _ever_!!”

She put her sword back down.

Ryner sighed. This was his life now. This was just his life.

He rose from the highest-quality bed in the whole country and stretched. Only then did Ferris step back and move to leave and let him change clothes. She’d be back if he fell asleep again, of course. Because he’d done it so many times before that she had her internal Ryner-is-sleeping-senses calibrated to max sensitivity. 

He’d met Ferris a couple years ago. She was a member of the Eris family that was supposed to protect Roland’s royalty, but in reality, she just beat him up. Even though he was supposed to be her king! And she was supposed to be his guard!

Well, technically, her older brother was supposed to be his guard. But, uh. He’d take Ferris. Sure, she was selfish and mean, but at least she didn’t regularly leave him for dead just because she didn’t like him.

He got dressed into something a little closer to pajamas than whatever kings were supposed to wear, then met Ferris outside his door.

“I need to go to the library today,” Ryner said through a yawn. “Need to check out some population stats.”

“You don’t have enough in your office?” Ferris asked.

“Well… the last king’s records might not be right,” Ryner said. “I like to double check before I do things. Like, what was keeping nobles from reporting their statistics as better than they really were? Nothing.”

“Then why is the library any better?”

“Some of it isn’t,” Ryner agreed. “But the archives go pretty deep and it’s hard to hide inconsistencies for long. I can usually figure out when something’s off.”

Ferris led the way. It became apparent a few minutes outside the gate that she was leading him towards her favorite dango shop instead of to the library, though.

Well… it was fine. He was a little hungry. It wouldn’t hurt to bring some snacks in. Who was gonna tell them no? Ferris was the first person to tell anyone that Ryner was royalty. It was just another ‘I can do whatever I want’ card in her arsenal rather than a reason to respect Ryner.

But that was fine. Honestly, was there any real reason why she should respect him just because he was royalty? If he didn’t do anything worthy of respect, then he shouldn’t be whining for it.

Ryner’s father, the previous king, had said the same thing. He didn’t think that the people were required to respect them just because of how they were born.

Noble, right?

But King Lieral Lieutolu hadn’t been all too well-liked. Because he was… well, he did things at his own pace. In his own way. Exclusively. Sure, sometimes his interests were the same as the people’s. But there were other times where they were the exact opposite and ended up causing people a whole lot of suffering.

That was all history, though. His father had disappeared some time ago, leaving Ryner to rule in his absence.

It’d been hard at first. Ryner was never all that motivated, and there were so many things around him that needed tended to. The Eris who told him to get to work was scary just like Ferris’ brother was. Then a couple years later he stopped coming and Lucile started coming in his place.

Well, it was… it was more complicated than that. But the details hurt. So there was no point in lingering on them.

Later, after he met Ferris, Ryner put two and two together and realized that the Eris dad died back then, and that Lucile was most likely the cause. So Lucile probably wasn’t all bad. Just mostly bad.

…Yeah, that didn’t make too much of a difference, did it. 

He met Ferris two years after her parents died. She was the type who did whatever she wanted, but always kept an eye over her shoulder, always looking for something that might stop her. Now, four years later, she was far more confident.

That was why she took Ryner’s wallet out to pay for the dango. Not her own.

“Where did you even get that?” Ryner asked, tired.

“Mm? From your room. Where else?”

Ryner just sighed. But he took the dango she handed him gratefully, and the first bite was just as delicious as it always was. “Ah, this is really good.”

“Right?” Ferris asked with a smile.

It was hard to stay mad at her when she made that face. So Ryner dropped the annoyance of her taking his money. He had enough anyway, and she was the one always keeping him focused when it was time to get some work done, so… yeah. The country could afford to thank her with some dango.

Even though she kept trying to sneak dango laws into his stacks of paperwork to sign. 

One time, he accidentally really signed one of her fake laws into effect. Thankfully, it wasn’t too serious. All it did was give all the dango shop owners in Roland a major bonus one month of the year, and he managed to find and scrap it after just one bonus went out.

Sorry to everyone who had to pay the taxes for that, but he made sure it came from the mobility to minimize the effect it had on everyone else.

Ferris handed him a bag full of dango. Then another. Then another.

“…We’re just going to the library, you know…”

“I know.” Another bag.

In the end, she had him carry five bags full of dango. Of course she didn’t have to carry any.

Ryner was lucky he was royalty. Nobody would let him go anywhere like this otherwise. Or… wait, actually, why did anyone let this happen!? He was royalty! She should carry it!

Not that he was going to say anything. Not when she always carried that massive sword of hers.

They walked the majority of the way talking about nothing but dango and the weather, but just in front of the library, Ryner stopped.

“Did you hear that?” He asked.

“Mfh hgh mf.”

“Uh, I didn’t understand any of that. I think it came from over here,” Ryner said and peeked into an alley.

Sure enough, there were three thugs surrounding a man who’d collapsed against the wall. His cheeks were bruised like he’d been beaten.

“……” 

This… wasn’t his problem, right? It wasn’t—

The man on the ground locked eyes with him… and grinned. “My king,” he said loudly. So that he _knew_ Ryner would hear. “Have you come to save me?”

“I don’t even know wh—”

Despite Ryner’s attempt in protesting, the man’s attackers had already noticed him and were stepping away slowly. They seriously believed that? They really, honestly believed that he knew some random guy they were beating up in an alley?

Ughhhh.

Ryner was about to call them back to finish what they started out of annoyance when the man stood and opened his once half-lidded eyes. They shone with red.

“…Ah…”

Ferris tilted her head. Maybe she’d never seen it before, but Ryner sure had.

This guy was an Alpha Stigma bearer.

“Thanks for your help,” he said. “Even if you didn’t do anything.”

“Um, uh, yeah…”

The Alpha Stigma bearer stepped forward. “I’m Sion.”

“…I’m Ryner. Are you, uh, wanting something from me?” 

“I am,” Sion said. Despite the bruises on his face and the stars in his eyes, his voice was overflowing with confidence. He took several steps closer and held his hand out. “Sion Astal. I was hoping to meet you.”

“You… knew I’d be here?” 

Sion’s smile said it all. He did it on purpose. He probably riled those guys up just so he’d catch Ryner’s attention at just the right time for them to meet eyes while Ryner was on his daily walk over to the library he frequented. What a sleazy guy. He picked Ryner’s hand up, forcing him to shake on whatever was lingering unsaid between them.

And something _was_ there. Ryner could feel it from every fiber of his being. Every nerve linking his warm hand to his mind. Every bit of Sion in his eyes.

He didn’t know what it was. But he could feel it. He could feel the world changing.

Ryner snapped out of it when Ferris cleared her throat behind him. “At least wait until nightfall to violate men on the streets, Ryner.”

“…I-I wasn’t going to do that! You know I’d never!”

Sion’s eyes widened just so, then he laughed. “You? I can’t imagine it.”

It felt familiar hearing him say that. His face felt familiar, too. Everything about him. But he couldn’t quite place it. Maybe he’d seen him in a dream? Or maybe… 

“……”

Maybe Sion was something from the dark side of Roland that Lucile told him to keep an eye out for. Maybe he was the _one_ that Lucile told him to be mindful of.

Ryner didn’t really want to do whatever it was that Lucile wanted him to do. But still. It didn’t look like Sion planned on leaving.

So he let Sion tag along to the library. And it turned out he was an absolute demon of busywork. Ryner gave him some vague topic to research to keep him busy, but in the end he was the one who did the vast majority of the work for the day. For _free._

Every now and then, Ryner and Ferris exchanged looks. They just couldn’t believe it. 

“Why aren’t you king instead?” Ryner mumbled, amazed, as Sion presented his detailed preliminary report on the discrepancies between nobles’ reported demographics and local economies and the realities. 

Sion smiled. It was a lot more tired than the confident smile he’d flashed when they first met in the morning. The sky was already dark, and they’d been working nonstop. It was natural for him to be sleepy. Ryner sure was. “I wasn’t born royalty.”

“But you could always kill me and take my throne.”

“You’d make me kill you for it?”

“…Wait, you actually want it!?”

Sion laughed. “You looked scared for a second. Like you really feared for your life…”

Maybe it was his tone… but Ryner couldn’t help but shiver.

He didn’t think that Sion would kill him. Not when he’d been so helpful.

So Ryner hired him officially and brought him back to the castle to show him around.

Sion said he didn’t have his own room, so Ryner gave him a guest room to use. Then they worked. And worked and worked and worked.

It was actually kind of worrying. Like, what responsibility did Sion have to him? What responsibility did he have to Roland?

They never talked about it, but Sion _was_ an Alpha Stigma bearer. Ryner doubted that Roland had been kind to him. But… Ryner was in charge now. He wanted Roland to be a place that was kind to Sion. So he worked to make it one.

But actually, most of the extra work wasn’t because Ryner wanted to do it. It was because Sion was mean to him and broke into his room and pushed him out of his bed when he wanted work done. He got sadistic joy out of watching Ryner do his job with bloodshot eyes. Of course Sion was bloodshot right beside him, but…

That aside, things were going well.

Until a day months after meeting Sion when Lucile stepped out into Ryner’s otherwise empty room.

“…You understand who he is, don’t you?”

“……”

“You’ll need to kill him eventually.”

“……”

“If you don’t.”

“…I know,” Ryner said. “I know. But… just a little longer, okay?”

Lucile just laughed. “How much longer? You’ll only make it worse the longer you wait.”

“That’s not true,” Ryner argued. But he didn’t sound convincing. Even he knew that. “I don’t think it’s bad for him to live. He does the world a lot of good.”

“Does he?”

“Of course he does. Why are you even asking that…?”

\---

He wanted to tell Sion about things. But every time he thought to, every time he opened his mouth, he felt a cold hand on his cheek.

Just do it, it said. Just make your choice. Kill him if you’re the bleeding heart you say you are. Kill him if you want to save him. Or damn him to an eternity of pain.

“…Ryner? Are you… crying?”

Ryner shook his head. “N-no! My eyes are just dry. Don’t yours get dry when we stay up like this?”

Sion shrugged. He didn’t look too terribly convinced.

Would it be possible now? It would, wouldn’t it? If Lucile wanted him to kill Sion sooner than later, why didn’t he do it now…?

“…Sion, I…”

The cold hand moved to his mouth. Sion couldn’t see it. Neither could Ryner. But it was there. He could feel it. He blinked a few times to force the urge to cry to leave him. Then he cleared his throat.

“N, never mind.”

Lucile was right. Because Sion was a smart guy. If Ryner told him that he needed to kill him, he’d make himself sparse. Lucile would never get what he wanted. So he watched them day and night to make sure that Ryner didn’t say anything to scare him off.

Lucile acted like he was a cat who could teach a mouse how to hunt. But it was impossible. Mice weren’t hunters. They didn’t have the claws for it. Ryner didn’t have the ability to kill Sion.

It wasn’t physical ability he was worried about. If he explained things to Ferris, she’d probably help him out. It was the mental capacity. He was not someone who was capable of the murder of his best buddy.

Lucile could say that his refusal was the same thing as damning Sion for all eternity. But Ryner was sure that wouldn’t happen.

He’d figure something out. He’d save Sion from death and from hell.

**Author's Note:**

> siorai is so embarrassing... nothing even changes


End file.
